


Her Angel With Horns

by hoken



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Community: femslashficlet, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 01:16:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19367272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoken/pseuds/hoken
Summary: There are times Rinko feels as if she cannot breathe. Ako is always there to bring back her smile.





	Her Angel With Horns

**Author's Note:**

> For [femslashficlets](https://femslashficlets.dreamwidth.org) Prompt Challenge #215: 'Edge.'

She didn’t expect it to be this crowded. 

From every side, there were people bustling around her and talking animatedly about the sudden sale the shopping mall announced. Rinko hadn’t thought to check online for an event like this, and when strangers began to pour in from every door, she felt the familiar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach getting heavier and heavier. 

She had gotten better when it came to situations like this one, and Roselia had definitely played its part in improving her social anxiety. But that didn’t mean it would disappear entirely, or as simply as she wished it would. It was a process and there wasn’t an immediate cure. She knew that, but…

Rinko wrung her hands, and a certain numbness spread throughout her body and tingled the tips of her fingers. The voices around her felt deafening, yet she couldn’t seem to process anyone’s words. With every shallow inhale, the feeling of paralysis continued to consume her, and her limbs trembled just a bit as she struggled to regain her composure. Wherever Rinko looked, she only saw more and more people, and she felt as if she were suffocating or shrinking. From the corners of her eyes, tears finally begun to well. 

Rinko ducked her head and pressed her hands to her chest. _It’s scary, it’s scary._ How could she escape when her body refused to move? She squished her eyes shut.

“…rin!”

_What do I do?_

Another person’s hands wrapped around her wrists. Their skin was warm, soft. Rinko peeked down, a single tear rolling down her cheek, and a voice distinguished itself from the masses. 

“Rin-rin,” Ako said gently. She was standing very close to Rinko, gazing up at her with concerned eyes and a small, comforting smile. “Rin-rin, I’m here! Just listen to me, okay?”

“…Ako-chan,” Rinko warbled quietly. Her throat felt too tight to say anything more.

“I’m going to get you out of here.” Ako’s eyebrows furrowed and she slid one of her hands up from Rinko’s wrist, and then wrapped it around Rinko’s clenched fist, tenderly pulling it apart until their fingers interlocked. Rinko still couldn’t feel the tips of hers, but the warmth of Ako’s palm gave her a sense of gravity. She clung to it. “Focus on my hand, okay, Rin-rin?”

Rinko nodded. 

Just as Ako instructed, Rinko focused completely on their clasped hands and allowed herself to follow after Ako’s footsteps. Everything else blurred together, and all that truly mattered was the occasional squeeze Ako gave her to comfort her. Rinko squeezed back each time. It felt as though they were the only two in the world.

She knew she wouldn’t mind that. If it were Ako… she'd be safe.

After a few minutes, they passed through sliding doors and an acute breeze tickled her cheeks. The realization that they had exited the mall made Rinko glance up, her mouth parted and her eyes searching. It wasn’t until she saw Ako’s curled pigtails that a sense of finality washed over her, and she knew that she was intact. The loud, hurried people were gone and they were standing beneath the warm sun.

Ako stopped and turned to face her with a grin. Rinko breathed in.

“We’re outside!” Ako declared happily, swinging their hands between them. “And you’re not blue anymore! Hehe, I told you that everything would be okay.”

_Ako-chan protected me again…_

She swallowed once and lowered her gaze to their shared hands. After a pause, she lifted Ako’s knuckles to her mouth. Rinko shyly pressed a kiss there. 

“Ah! Rin-rin?” Ako said in surprise, her shoulders bouncing. “Why?”

“…Thank you… Ako-chan,” Rinko replied softly. “I didn’t… know what to do. I froze up. But then… Ako-chan came and saved me.”

A pink flush rose up Ako’s neck and filled her cheeks. She blinked twice, clearly processing Rinko’s words, and then bashfully looked away with her twintails fluttering. In that moment, Rinko was overcome with the urge to hug Ako. Ako’s blush made Rinko fall in love with Ako a little more every time, and this was no exception. 

After a brief pause, Ako determinedly returned her eyes to Rinko’s face. Her skin remained a pretty rose color.

“I’ll always be here to save you,” Ako replied, the reds of her contact lenses glimmering. Rinko’s heart pounded. “So you don’t have to worry, Rin-rin. No matter what happens, I’ll be right by your side!” She finished by puffing up her chest.

“Hehe…” Rinko giggled in her quiet voice, her expression softening as she admired Ako. “…Thank you again, Ako-chan.”

Their hands dropped down as Ako leaned up on the tips of her boots. Rinko felt Ako’s smile against her lips, and it was even softer than Ako’s knuckles were.

_I love you, Ako-chan._


End file.
